There once was a man in Lordaeron so consumed by greed that he was beyond remorse. Eventually caught trying to steal Prince Arthas' sacred ring, he was tried and hanged. Yet his body, so corrupted by his desire to steal, rose by itself in the form of a monstrous ghoul. So came into being N'aix, his old name long forgotten: the embodiment of lust and greed, bent on stealing the life of every living creature he encounters.

II. INTRODUCTION

Hello everyone! Welcome to my very first guide, about N'aix the Lifestealer. I first played Lifestealer when my friend suggested him. I used him in a game but unfortunately our team lost because of my lack of experience with N'aix. Since then, I tried to improve myself on how to play this hero by asking my friends on his combos, item and skill builds, and using him vs AIs. It took a lot of hardwork, time, and practice. What things you will see in this guide helped me won most of my games by using N'aix and I hope that after you read this guide, you would too. Happy reading!

III. HERO INFORMATION & STATS

Pros:[+]Excellent in terms of farming, tanking, and ganking.[+]Excellent counter to tanks.[+]He has one of the best(if not the best) lifestealing ability.[+]Has a free BKB only with a lower cooldown.[+]Good starting strength.[+]Very good hero late game.

Cons:[-]Item-dependent[-]He is mostly the target early game not only because he is stronger late game and if they let him farm the right items but also he is weak in that stage.[-]Needs good collaboration with teammates for he is dead if he is doing 1 vs 5(1 is N'aix)

Our free BKB plus IAS. Note that the attack speed increase is based on the CURRENT attack speed of N'aix. Activating it can dispell many buffs so be careful when using it especially when you activate runes like Haste. It also stacks with the bonus attack speed given by the Mask of Madness. Can be used before using TP to avoid interruptions while channeling.
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Feast

Regenerates a portion of an enemy's current HP and deals the same portion per attack.

Lifestealer's lifesteal. This skill is what makes him an excellent counter to tanks. It adds decent damage to N'aix's attacks and steals life depending on Feast's level and the CURRENT HP of the enemy that means the more the health of the enemy, the more the health Lifestealer will steal.

Damage type is physical, that means the damage is reduced by armor. It works against magic immune units but doesn't work on Roshan. This skill synergizes with Rage for he will steal life more with increased attack speed.

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Open Wounds

N'aix rends the enemy, slowing his movespeed and allowing his allies to feast on his life force, regenerating a portion of the damage dealt. The victim slowly recovers movement speed over 8 seconds.

N'aix's slow. While enemy is affected by Open Wounds, any damage dealt ,including spell damage, will activate the lifesteal.
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Infest

The Lifestealer tears its way into the unfortunate body of a target unit, laying dormant and undetectable inside its living frame until he is ready to come to form. When he comes out of the unit, he deals damage to all nearby enemy units. If the infested unit is an enemy, the Lifestealer will devour it first, gaining the health the unit currently has.

N'aix's ultimate. This skill can serve as an escape mechanism. How? By infesting to an enemy creep that has the highest current HP then Rage + TP out. This can also serve as an initiation tool in teamfights. How? Infest to an allied hero then consume(Yes, consume. Luckily that wouldn't kill your ally!) to pop out when the enemy heroes are there. It can weaken the whole team up, then your allies can take care of it, resulting your team on winning that clash(depends if your teammates has good collaboration, or the enemy team has Plan B to turn things upside down).

Damage dealt by Consume is magical. If the infested unit is killed, N'aix will emerge from it thus, it wouldn't heal N'aix. N'aix gains experience from kills made nearby the Infested target while he is traveling with it.

Justification: Rage is highly recommended at level 1 to avoid being killed easily since, most probably, you will be the target 'cause N'aix is weak early game, so we need to survive until mid game and Feast at level 2 is gonna help you with that. Rage is maxed first to have IAS and longer duration of magic immunity. Feast is maxed next for lane control because of HP regen. Open Wounds is maxed last, one level of Open Wounds early is enough because the slow is the same at all levels. Infest is taken whenever possible to win clashes or even escape. Stats is taken when there is no other option.

Justification: This build is what I recommend when playing N'aix. Feast is maxed first for survivability while jungling. Rage is maxed 2nd, Open Wounds is maxed last, and Infest is taken whenever possible for the same reasons as the ones in laning build.

The added damage from Quelling Blade helps N'aix to last hit creeps. A Gauntlet of Strength and 2 GG Branches for added stats. The Gauntlet would soon be a Bracer and the GG Branches for a Magic Wand(you'll need to buy one more but farming for a single GG Branch is a piece of cake to N'aix). Tangoes are for healing purposes.

Armlet of Mordiggian is the item made for N'aix. When activated, you gain +31 damage, +10 attack speed, +25 strength which is a nice boost for N'aix. The 37 HP drain per second wouldn't be such a big deal because of lifesteal. Deactivate when not in use.

Strength Treads increases your attack speed which he needs and additional strength for N'aix to make him tankier.

Kelen's Dagger + Infest = Escape. If you're being ganked, your dagger is unusable. Just Infest an enemy creep for 3 sec then Consume then blink away quickly then TP or just run to fountain.

TP to base + Rage = Another escape. Always bring this.

Magic Wand is a cheap butt-saving item. Not enough mana to Infest? Want to survive longer in a lane? Magic Wand solves your problems in case the situation mentioned happened.

Assault Cuirass provides positive armor for you and your allies and a negative armor for you enemies. The 55 IAS is very useful especially if Rage is used, you'll have insane attack speed to hit harder and faster.

Buriza-do-Kyanon is a nice item N'aix can have. The +81 damage is nice and the 25% chance to deal 2.5x the normal damage is good since N'aix has high damage.

Stygian Desolator increases N'aix's damage, even more after the first hit which triggers Corruption(-6 armor).

Boots of Travelboosts your MS even more, plus you wouldn't need to carry TPs any more, this one is like an unlimited TP and has lower cooldown than TP, too!!

Divine Rapieradds +300(!!!) damage. This can seriously rape the other team. Just be careful and don't be killed!

Vanguard provides HP regen and damage block, but buy this ONLY when there are a lot of heroes in the opposite team that rely mostly on physical damage.

Cranium Basher gives decent damage and strength but I usually get this when there are heroes on the opposite team that have many escape mechanisms like Morphling, Puck, etc.

Orb of Venom adds slow to your attack. This is nice for N'aix to have since he has low chasing ability, but Kelen's Dagger is a more viable choice.

Heart of Tarrasque is situational, but once you got it, your tanking capabilities will increase a lot. Gives +40 strength and 300 HP and an HP regen when out of battle. This item is purchased last and by that time the game will have already ended, and there are better choices for N'aix's items, that is why Heart is completely situational.

The Butterfly adds +30 attack speed, +30 damage, and +30 agility and the 35% evasion is nice for N'aix, but if its attack speed we're talking about, then I'd rather take Mjollnir/Assault Cuirass.

Monkey King Bar is also a nice choice especially if your enemy is Mortred. It also provides nice damage and attack speed, but like Heart, there are a lot of better choices for N'aix.

Battle Fury gives mana regen(which you really don't need) and damage but what makes it good is that its cleave. With this, you can farm faster. But I'd rather go for Mjollnir for not only it helps you farm faster but also it increases N'aix's attack speed by a lot.

Aghanim's Scepter doesn't upgrade Infest so getting this is pointless.

Dagon? Really? The Intelligence gain is useless, and you N'aix doen't need to finish off an enemy by using this since he can do that with normal attacks alone.

This items are not needed. N'aix doesn't need that much mana to do his skills.

Although double Infest is nice especially during clashes, Refresher Orb costs too much money and mana, and N'aix don't have that much mana, and we don't really need mana to do his skills, and we don't need to get items that increases mana so this is a reject.

VII. HERO STRATEGYGet your starting items, I probably go for the Jungling N'aix Starting Items. Take the Bottom Lane if you're playing Sentinel or the Top Lane if you're playing Scourge. The support in your team must set up wards, Observer and Sentry, especially near your lane. Check that spot often to know if you will be ganked. Last hit every creep if possible, N'aix needs to get his items quickly. At level 3, you can start jungling. If you don't know how to jungle, use this guide, this guide, and this guide.

Once you got your core items (especially Armlet), then you can start ganking. Personally, I would Infest an ally, consume, activate Armlet, Open Wounds and Rage. Deactivate Armlet when not in use. Be sure that your teammates will support you in case you get disabled. Remember that you kill the tank first before anyone else in the enemy team because that is what N'aix is made of, to dispose of them.

If you're jungling properly and your team is owning the game, then you must have 1 or 2 items in the luxury panel in 25-35 mins. I suggest that items to be Mjollnir and Assault Cuirass. By this point, either you continue jungling for more items, or continue ganking and finish the game.

These guys stun/disable, you and the others whack the enemy/enemies to death. It's better if 2 or 3 of them are in you team to chain stun/disable. The AoE stuns/disables are better allies but single targeted stuns are good especially if against a single enemy.

DPS Amplifiers

Basically, they help you hit harder and faster.

Best Allies

Beastmaster gives you IAS and initiates battles with his ulti. His pig has an additional slow to add to Open Wounds or you may not use Open Wounds at all.

Skeleton King has lifesteal and critical strike and stun. N'aix has a slow and lifesteal. Whacking the enemy to death couldn't be easier especially with right items. With good cooperation, this tandem can be unbeatable.

Tidehunter initiates with ulti. Then you can easily kill the opponent right after he use Gush, the enemy will be slowed to help you chase him, and the enemy will also have reduced armor to boost your attack. If the enemy tries to fight back with normal attacks, he uses Anchor Smash to reduce their damage by 40%.

Ogre Magi has a stun and with a level 3 Multicast, he can cast it 4x, you can just hit the enemy effortlessly. He also increases your attack speed to have a faster Rage and movement speed + Ogre Magi's Ignite to chase the enemy.

For their skill (Maledict for Witch Doctor and Reaper's Scythe for Necrolyte) need to be more effective, the enemy should have low HP, the lower the better. You can help them with that with your great attack speed and damage. Plus, Witch Doctor has a stun.

Enchantress' Untouchable decreases your attack speed which means that you can't maximize the effect of Feast. Better face her when you have your Mjollnir and/or Assault Cuirass, at least even though your attack speed will be slowed, you will still hit her faster than without those items at all, and have a disabler to help you kill her.

Omniknight is a real pain in the butt for N'aix, he'll use Repel so that you can't cast Open Wounds on him, or remove it if you've already cast it. His Degen Aura slows both your attack and movement speed which means you can't maximize the effect of Feast and chase him and what's even worse is his Guardian Angel that will make you useless, especially during clashes. During clashes, let your teammates kill him then you can help kill the rest of them with the combo mentioned in the Hero Strategy.

Ancient Apparition's Ice Blast renders all forms of regeneration, including Feast, useless. If you got Shadow Priest on you team, his Shallow Grave will help you survive if you have low HP and you got struck by Ice Blast.

Items that counter N'aix

If the enemy uses this items, you would be useless since Ghost Scepter and Ethereal Blade prevents physical damage and that is what is N'aix is about. But the downside for them is that every magical damage that will hit them would be amplified, so if your enemies uses this item, let the spellcasters do their jobs.

IX. REPLAYS

No replays at the moment.

X. CONCLUSIONThis guide is created to give you an idea on what you should do when using N'aix, NEVER expect to win every time when you use this guide, results MAY vary. If you lose don't lose temper and say "OMG that guide made me lose, n00b, 1/10!", instead know what you did wrong and try to improve that, eventually you'll get stronger and stronger. Practice makes perfect.

This is my very first guide, so please understand if you spot several mistakes, I tried my best and you'll see me get better as time goes by. Suggestions and constructive criticisms would be very appreciated by me so if you have one don't hesitate to post it in the comments. I would analyze if your suggestion will greatly help me improve this guide, after all it is not me who will benefit but the ones who are reading this; by helping me improve this guide, you help several others out there who are eager to learn how to play N'aix. Thank you for considering this guide to aid you in playing N'aix, the Lifestealer!